Corrective shoe



H. H. MINOR CORRECTIVE SHOE May 15, 1934.

Filed Jan. 14; 1933 3mm HenryEMinoW attempt;

Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

This invention relates in general to shoes and more particularly hasreference to an improved corrective arch supporting structure.

It is well known that one of the most common forms of defects of thehuman foot has to do with defectsin the arch of the foot and theexistence of deformed and weak arches.

One of the more prevalent means for treating such defects of the archesof the feet is to place within the shoe of the patient a device forsupporting the arch either permanently or until it is strong enough tostay up without a support. For this purpose, various types of supportshave been resorted to, among them being a separate piece made of metalor other stiff material and having an upwardly projecting portionadapted to fit under the arch of the foot and support the same in itsproper position; Also, a number of different shoe constructions havebeen devised for the purpose of providing a support for the arch whichsupport is integral with the shoe itself.

Among constructions of the latter class are shoes in which a piece ofleather adapted to support the arch has been either made integral withthe inner sole or secured to the inner sole.

In cases where such a piece of leather is made integral with the innersole, if the ordinary relatively soft leather is used for the innersole, the piece adapted to support the arch is too soft and flexible toretain its shape, and will quickly be bent down so as to be useless. Ifthe inner sole is made of stiff enough material to enable the archsupporting portion to retain its shape, it

will be too stiff and hard to form a comfortable inner sole.Furthermore, in blanking out inner soles with the extra arch supportingportion integral therewith, it toe of one inner sole outline against theheel of another inner sole outline. It therefore requires a much largersheet of leather to blank out the same number of soles, and the wastageis found to be much greater.

Where the arch support has been formed of a separate piece ofgrainleather or other stiff material and secured to the inner sole, greatdifficulty has been involved producing the shoe because the arch supportis necessarily secured to the inner sole early in the process andthereafter hinders the carrying out of the remaining necessary steps ofmanufacture. Also, the inner sole, being relatively soft and pliable, isnot sufficiently strong to maintain the arch support in its properposition. Instead, the arch support will tend to tip over and becomeuseless, at the same time 5 distorting the inner sole.

In many cases also, arch supports have been formed of metal. Thesesupports however, have merely supported the arch more or less rigidly,taking all the load of supporting the arch from becomes impossible tofit the the muscles, and allowing no movement to encourage the musclesto take a part of the load.

In all of these forms, great difficulty has been experienced because ofthe fact that when a support is placed on the arch portion of the shoe,the load thus placed on the arch of the shoe will cause it to sag andcause the outer sole to pull away from the welt and the inner sole.

, Thus, the supports previously devised have either proven ineffectiveto accomplish the desired result, have not proven durable enough tostand up in service or have proven to be so expensive and impractical tomanufacture that they have not achieved success.

One object of this invention is therefore to provide a shoe with an archsupporting construction which will furnish ample support for the arch ofthe foot, and which will at the same time be relatively simple andinexpensive to manufacure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a construction of thetype referred to in which the arch support will add to the strength ofthe shoe itself particularly to reinforce the construction of the shoemaking it impossible for the arch of the shoe to rip out and sag as isvery prevalent in all corrective type footwear due to excessive pressureof broken down feet or arches as well as the insertion of metal archappliances.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe with an archsupport having the desirable amount-of strength and stiffness toproperly support the arch without rigidity, allowing the foot necessaryexercise and giving a massaging effect to the muscles of the foot whichrestores normal circulation, without at the same time introducing intothe remainder of the shoe construction any undesirable features.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe constructionhaving an arch supporting saddle to which insertions of felt andmaterials generally used for this purpose by doctors may be added andanchored to change the effect of the saddle in accordance with therequirements of the'individual patient.

Another object of this invention is to provide an arch supporting saddlebuilt on top of the insole to allow it to hug the arch of the foot moreclosely than any known built in support thus producing a bandagingeffect when the shoe is laced on the foot.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it beingdistinctly understood that the same are by way of illustration andexample only and are not to be taken as in any way limiting the scope ofthis invention. The spirit and scope of this invention are to be limitedonly by the prior art taken in connection with the accompanying claim.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing in which like numeralsindicate corresponding parts throughout:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shoe having the upper cut away so asto illustrate the construction of the arch support of this invention.

Figure 2 is an elevation of a shoe embodying this invention, parts ofthe same being broken away and shown in section for the purpose ofillustrating various details of construction.

Figure 3 is a section taken along the line 33 of Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 1, the illustration shows the lower portion of ashoe consisting of the outer sole 1, the welt 2, and the inner sole 3.These are all preferably formed in the ordinary manner, andhave attachedthereto also in the customary manner a heel 4 for the purpose ofsupporting the heel portion of the foot.

The outer sole 1 of the shoe is usually made of a relatively stiff grainleather, which may be molded and formed on a last while wet, so thatwhen dry it will serve to give the shoe the necessary stiffness and formto prevent it from getting out of shape. This outer sole is alsonecessarily quite heavy in order to withstand the wear which is given toit in use. The welt 2 and the inner sole 3 are formed of a relativelysoft leather from which the grain has been removed so that it may flexand form a comfortable support for the sole of the foot, and so that itwill not wrinkle or crack in service with consequent discomfort to thewearer.

The heel 4 is usually formed of some relatively hard substance such aslaminations of stiff leather, wood, or other suitable composition. Theupper 5 is usually made of soft pliable leather, and is formed so as tosnugly encase the upper portions of the foot.

In assembling the parts, the inner sole 3 is usually slit or channeledin its under surface as at 6, and the projection 7 thus formed isstitched to the lower edge of the upper 5 and to the welt 2 as shown at8. The outer sole 1 is then stitched along its edges as at 9 to theouter edge of the welt 2.

In addition to the structure just described, this invention contemplatesthe use of an additional strip of leather 10 for the purpose of formingthe arch supporting saddle. This strip of leather 10 is first cut out inthe form shown in the drawing, being tapered both at its upper and loweredges so as to eliminate the shoulders which would otherwise'beformed,and which would impair the comfort of the wearer. This piece 10 ispreferably formed of a grain leather the same as is the outer sole 1, sothat it may be molded and shaped in the same manner as the outer sole,and will retain its shape so as to form an efficient arch support.

After the other parts of the shoe have been assembled in the mannerdescribed above, the part 10 is then secured on top of the inner sole asillustrated in Figure 3 by means of stitching 11 passing through theouter sole 1, the welt 2,the upper 5, theinner sole 3, and the member10, forming what I have chosen to call a flexi-rigid saddle forsupporting the arch of thefoot.

It will thus be seen that an arch supporting saddle is formed which maybe quickly and easily secured to and made a part of the shoe, that thissaddle is moldable and possesses the necessary stiffness to cause it toretain its molded shape and hug tightly to the inside longitudinal archand thus serve as an efficient arch supporter, and that a means has beenprovided for firmly securing this member to the shoe that it willreinforce the construction of shoe at its weakest point of strain andnot detract from the strength of the shoe or any of its parts. On theother hand, the member 10 will be firmly supported so that it cannot bepermanently displaced by the bending of any one of the members going tomake up the shoe, and by its'own stiffness and the fact that aconsiderable portion of its surface is in a plane at an angle to theplane of the sole of the shoe, it is enabled to lend considerablestrength and stiffness to the necessary mold in the shank. The structuredescribed is inexpensive and yet it is more effective than anythingwhich has been previously devised.

In use, it has been found that this arch supporting saddle will supportthe arch of the foot in a flexi-rigid manner as distinguished from arigid manner. That is, while the support is substantially rigid, yet itpossesses a slight fiexibiilty or give sufficient to enable it tomassage and exercise the muscles, thus restoring normal circulationtherein and encouraging them to assume the load of supporting the archthemselves.

In connection with the utility of the arch supporter which has beenprovided, it is further noted that .a physician or other persons seekingto correct the arch of the wearer, may place upon or beneath the member10 such padding as he may deem sufficient for the purpose of causing themember 10 to exert a greater supporting force against the arch of thefoot. The effect of the support is thus variable to accommodate thevarious needs of the wearer, and may be changed from time to time inaccordance with the progress made by the patient.

It is further noted that in carrying out this invention the hair side ofthe leather forming the arch support saddle 10 is placed uppermost andnext to the foot of the wearer. Because of the well known tendency ofleather to curl towards its hair side, it will be seen that it will tendto remain in proper position and press against the arch of the footrather than to flatten out as would be the case if it were otherwisedisposed or if it were a part of the insole made of flexible splitleather, etc.

It will therefore be readily apparent that a means has been provided forcarrying out all'the objects of thisinvention in a new and improved andmost economical manner.

What I claim is:

A shoe comprising an outer sole of stiff grain leather," an upper ofsoft flexible split leather, an inner sole of soft flexible splitleather, an arch supporting saddle of stiff grain leather, said saddlehaving one edge in contact with the upper surface of the inner sole andthe other edge disposed upwardly at an inclination with respect to theinner sole and having its hair side continuous and disposed toward thefoot of the wearer, whereby the natural tendency of grain leather tocurl toward its hair side will cause it to bear against and more firmlysupport the arch of the foot, and securing means for firmly anchoringsaid stiff grain leather saddle through the soft split leather innersole directly to the stiff grain leather outer sole, whereby said shoewill have a soft comfortable inner sole and a firmly anchored stiff archsupporting saddle having a natural tendency to curve toward the foot ofthe wearer.

HENRY H. MINOR.

